Clinical development of new drug-radiotherapy combinations.

In countries with the best cancer outcomes, approximately 60% of patients receive radiotherapy as part of their treatment, which is one of the most cost-effective cancer treatments. Notably, around 40% of cancer cures include the use of radiotherapy, either as a single modality or combined with other treatments. Radiotherapy can provide enormous benefit to patients with cancer. In the past decade, significant technical advances, such as image-guided radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, stereotactic radiotherapy, and proton therapy enable higher doses of radiotherapy to be delivered to the tumour with significantly lower doses to normal surrounding tissues. However, apart from the combination of traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy with radiotherapy, little progress has been made in identifying and defining optimal targeted therapy and radiotherapy combinations to improve the efficacy of cancer treatment. The National Cancer Research Institute Clinical and Translational Radiotherapy Research Working Group (CTRad) formed a Joint Working Group with representatives from academia, industry, patient groups and regulatory bodies to address this lack of progress and to publish recommendations for future clinical research. Herein, we highlight the Working Group's consensus recommendations to increase the number of novel drugs being successfully registered in combination with radiotherapy to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer.National Institute for Health ResearchThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.7

Practical Applications of ChatGPT in Undergraduate Medical Education

ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by OpenAI that has garnered significant attention for achieving at or near a passing standard on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE). Currently, researchers and users are exploring ChatGPT's broad range of potential applications in academia, business, programming, and beyond. We attempt outline how ChatGPT may be applied to support undergraduate medical education during the preclinical and clinical years, and highlight possible concerns regarding its use which necessitates the creation of formal policies and training by medical schools

Assessing the sustainability of UBC Sprouts : a commodity chain analysis

The UBC Food System Project is a collaborative, community-based action research project involving multiple partners and collaborators to transform the current UBC food system into a more sustainable and environmental friendly food system. With consultations and continuing dialogue with the project partners and collaborators, the UBCFSP team developed a series of scenarios relating to specific aspects of the UBC food system. The scenario our group had the opportunity to investigate was the sustainability of UBC Sprouts. Sprouts is a volunteer run organization at the University of British Columbia dedicated to providing the community with sustainable and healthy food. To assess the sustainability of Sprouts, our group decided to conduct a commodity chain analysis of one of their soups. Our research revealed that most of the ingredients of the soup were supplied locally by Discovery Organics. The vegetables for the soup were all produced by farms located within British Columbia. The UBC farm supplies some of Sprouts’ vegetables, but is not exclusively used for soup production. It is instead sold at the grocery store section of Sprouts. We examined the kitchen area, as well as the food preparation procedures involved in making the selected soup. Through analyzing the findings, our group was able to generate recommendations regarding the sustainability practices for Sprouts, as well as suggestions for future AGSC 450 students. Our commodity chain analysis confirmed the sustainability of Sprouts, which supports UBC’s movement towards a more sustainable and carbon-neutral campus. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat

Recording of adverse events in English general practice: analysis of data from electronic patient records.

BACKGROUND: Although the majority of patient contact within the UK's National Health Service (NHS) occurs in primary care, relatively little is known about the safety of care in this setting compared to the safety of hospital care. Measurement methods to detect iatrogenic diseases in primary care require extensive development. Routinely collected data have been successfully applied to develop patient safety indicators in secondary care. Given the availability of electronic health data in primary care, we explored the potential to build adverse event screening tools using computerised medical record systems. OBJECTIVE: To identify the rate and types of adverse events that might be recorded in primary care through routinely collected data. The findings will inform the development of administrative data-based indicators to screen for patient harm arising from primary care contact. METHOD: Descriptive analyses were performed on data extracted from the clinical information management systems (CIMS) at NHS Brent. The data were explored according to age, sex and ethnicity of patients. Potential or actual adverse events were identified by mapping to three Read code chapters. RESULTS: Records from the calendar year 2007 were available for 69 682 registered patients from 25 practices, consisting of 680 866 consultations. A number of adverse events could be detected through terms contained in certain chapters of the Read code system. These events include injuries due to surgical and medical care (0.72 cases of per 1000 consultations) and adverse drug reactions (1.26 reactions per 1000 consultations). Patterns in the rate of harm among patients from different ethnic groups tended to reflect the proportion of the respective groups in the overall Brent population, with more injuries occurring among patients of white and Asian ethnicities. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that there is scope to develop more accurate and reliable means of safety surveillance in general practice using data obtained from electronic patient records

Distinct focal adhesion protein modules control different aspects of mechanotransduction

Focal adhesions (FAs) are macromolecular complexes that regulate cell adhesion and mechanotransduction. Using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and fluorescence loss after photoactivation (FLAP), we found that the mobility of core FA proteins correlates with protein function. Structural proteins such as tensin, talin and vinculin are significantly less mobile in FAs than signaling proteins such as FAK and paxillin. The mobilities of the structural proteins are directly influenced by substrate stiffness, suggesting they are involved in sensing the rigidity of the extracellular environment. The turnover rates of FAK and paxillin as well as kindlin2 are not influenced by substrate stiffness. By using specific Src and FAK kinase inhibitors, we reveal that force-sensing by vinculin occurs independently of FAK and paxillin phosphorylation. However, this phosphorylation is required for downstream, Rac1-driven cellular processes, such as protrusion and cell migration. Overall, we show that the FA is composed of different functional modules that separately control mechanosensing and the cellular mechano-response.</jats:p

And Still She Rises: Policies for Improving Women’s Health for a More Equitable Post-Pandemic World

The COVID-19 pandemic has spawned crises of violence, hunger and impoverishment. Maternal and Infant Health Canada (MIHCan) conducted this policy action study to explore how changes that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic may catalyze potential improvements in global women’s health toward the creation of a more equitable post-pandemic world. In this mixed methods study, 280 experts in women’s health responded to our survey and 65 subsequently participated in focus groups, including professionals from India, Egypt/Sudan, Canada and the United States/Mexico. From the results of this study, our recommendations include augmenting mental health through more open dialogue, valuing and compensating those working on the frontlines through living wages, paid sick leave and enhanced benefits and expanding digital technology that facilitates flexible work locations, thereby freeing time for improving the wellbeing of caregivers and families and offering telemedicine and telecounseling, which delivers greater access to care. We also recommend bridging the digital divide through the widespread provision of reliable and affordable internet services and digital literacy training. These policy recommendations for employers, governments and health authorities aim to improve mental and physical wellbeing and working conditions, while leveraging the potential of digital technology for healthcare provision for those who identify as women, knowing that others will benefit. MIHCan took action on the recommendation to improve mental health through open conversation by facilitating campaigns in all study regions. Despite the devastation of the pandemic on global women’s health, implementing these changes could yield improvements for years to come.Medicine, Faculty ofNon UBCMedicine, Department ofReviewedFacultyResearcherOthe